This invention relates to providing an improved electrical generation system utilizing waste oil as a combustible fuel. More particularly, this invention relates to the co-generation of electrical power using a generator powered by the heat energy produced by a waste-oil-fired furnace.
Well over a billion gallons of used oil are generated in the United States each year. Only a small percent of that amount is properly recycled, with the remainder dumped into the environment. Waste oil dumping has increasingly become a major worldwide environmental issue. It has been shown that one gallon of waste oil can contaminate up to one million gallons of water. Currently, forty percent of the pollution found in the waterways of the United States is created by waste oil, with similar pollution statistics reported by other industrialized countries.
In 1980 the U.S. Congress passed the Used Oil Recycling Act to establish national policy governing used oil. One significant aspect of the legislation was the acceptance of on-site burning of waste oil to produce usable heat. Government leaders recognized that making used oil valuable for hundreds of thousands of small businesses was the best way to prevent dumping and water pollution.
In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) currently acts to establish, monitor and manage waste oil control guidelines in an attempt reduce hazardous environmental waste oil contamination from waste oil dumping. The EPA's rule generally states:    TITLE 40—PROTECTION OF ENVIRONMENT    PART 279—STANDARDS FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF USED OIL—Table of Contents Subpart C—Standards for Used Oil Generators    Sec. 279.23 On-site burning in space heaters. Generators may burn used oil in used oil-fired space heaters provided that:            (a) The heater burns only used oil that the owner or operator generates or used oil received from household do-it-yourself used oil generators;        (b) The heater is designed to have a maximum capacity of not more than 0.5 million Btu per hour; and        (c) The combustion gases from the heater are vented to the ambient air.            [57 FR 41612, Sep. 10, 1992, as amended at 58 FR 26425, May 3, 1993]
Efficient burning of waste oil is a relatively complex problem. Typically, the waste oil being burned is a mixture of several oil types, each having unique physical characteristics (such as varying densities and flow viscosities).
There are a number of manufacturers that have developed waste oil burners. The EPA and CE have approved this type of waste oil burning process without a permit; as long as the EPA's burning criteria are met (as noted above). Despite the high level of efficiency of current waste oil burners, as much as seventy percent of the combustion heat produced by a unit is lost as exhaust. It is clear that a need exists for an improved waste oil burning system that better utilizes valuable generated heat energy currently lost from existing systems.